Five KSIs in three weeks in Kent raise serious safety concerns

Whilst dual carriageways are statistically safer for cyclists, there's no denying that they are unpleasant, with the draught and noise from cars and lorries passing.

I would presume that anyone choosing to cycle on a trunk road like the A2 is both confident and experienced so it is very worrying that drivers weren't able to avoid hitting them. I wonder what these drivers were paying attention to? It certainly can't have been the road.

Also, one has to question the morals of the lowlife who know they have collided with another human being and then drive off to selfishly protect their driving licence. The penalty for such an offence really should be a massive deterrent.

also wanted to say that the only way to get any information as to the true cause of the accidents is to be there at the coroners inquest.

I personally think that speed limits everywhere but motorways and dual carriageways need to be reduced! It should also be mandatory that in all new cars a gps device of somekind needs to be fitted to reduce speed without any input from the driver, that way they will have to slow down, they have the technology to do it, so why dont they! It might cost more, but you cant really put a price on someones life can you?

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It could have been avoided by there not being a collision. Please don't blame the victim for choosing to use the road. I really like cycle tracks but nearly all of them are unsuitable for riding at speed or with cargo, and some are unsuitable for all but the slowest users.

Actually, I should have thought that a typical dual-carriageway trunk road, while a thoroughly unpleasant experience on a bike, is probably safer than a single carriageway A road, or minor roads - just as motorways are safer for motorists than other roads.

Why? Because they are engineered to be wider and straighter, so that traffic can move faster, but that means the opportunity to see and avoid is so much greater as to be unmissable to anyone other than a criminally incompetent driver.

The roads which really scare me are rural B roads - narrower, more winding, and generally with an entirely inappropriate national speed limit ie 60mph.

Mind you, while I know that motorists involved in serious road casulaties are often arrested as an administrative matter, to ease potential furtehr proceedings which may come to nothing, the incidents here do sound like an element of dangerous driving was involved in each case. And what is meant by "thought to be" from Kent Frozen Foods? Does that mean the police aren't saying, or that they don't know because the driver legged it?

surely the headline should be "Kent police worry driving standards too low to cope with rise in cyclists" ?

In my experience this is a more accurate statement. I drive and cycle in the county and basically, many drivers lack basic skills. My driving actually improved when I started cycling and I wonder if mandatory cycling (or horseriding) would be in order. As a driver I have been involved in at least two scary road road rage incidents where the other vehicle ignored a traffic signal (a red traffic light and incorrect positioning at a roundabout) because it was going too fast. As a cyclist - it is almost daily the numpties you come across. The road to Ashford to New Romney is wide and straight and speed limits are routinely ignored with suicidal passing (once passed by a car correctly that was actually overtaken at the same moment by some loon)

I cycle on some very quiet country lanes and even on those cars approach me at very high speeds from the opposite direction, they do not slow down or pass me with any caution. If I was to hit a pothole and come off the bike they would kill me. We need drivers to be more aware of bikes . We need a national campaign like the think bike campaign for motorbikes

What kind of roads were these? By the number, I'm guessing the A2 incidents were on busy, fast sections of road?

Really sad to hear of these tragic losses and injuries.